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Sentimental Value wins Best International Feature at the 2026 Oscars
Norwegian director Joachim Trier has just won the Oscar for Best International Feature for Sentimental Value. His film was already in competition at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix. This family drama stars Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning, and dives into the complex father-daughters dynamics…
Published on 18 August 2025. Updated on 16 March 2026.
Joachim Trier’s crowning at the Cannes Film Festival for Sentimentale Value
It’s safe to say that Joachim Trier has firmly established himself as a key figure in contemporary cinema. Notable works from the Norwegian director include Reprise (2006), Oslo, August 31st (2011), and Thelma (2017). His previous film, The Worst Person in the World (2021), nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars, also garnered Renate Reinsve the award for Best Actress at Cannes.
In 2025, the filmmaker was back in the South of France with Sentimental Value, which received the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. An opportunity for him to reunite with Renate Reinsve, who plays Nora, an actress deeply committed to her career. Her younger sister, Agnes, has opted for a more stable, traditional life with a husband and child.
After their mother’s death, the two sisters have to reconnect with their estranged father, Gustav, a once-renowned filmmaker played by Stellan Skarsgård. During a retrospective of his films in France, Gustav meets a Hollywood actress, portrayed by Elle Fanning, and casts her to play a role originally created for Nora. The filming in Norway then offered Gustav a chance to mend broken family bonds…
A film starring Elle Fanning and acclaimed at the 2026 Oscars
Sentimental Value bears the emotional depth and sensitivity that characterise Joachim Trier’s cinematic work. Its selection in the official competition at Cannes was a testament to the festival’s faith in the Norwegian director’s ability to deliver a bold, relevant project.
But the film also found success at the 2026 Oscars. The director took home the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film for Sentimental Value. While accepting his award, the Danish-Norwegian filmmaker said: “I’m just a nerd from Norway who loves cinema. This film is about a very dysfunctional family, and it’s the opposite of what I felt with this beautiful group behind me. I’ve never been so proud of the cast. (…) I want to end by paraphrasing the wonderful American writer James Baldwin, who makes us remember that all adults are responsible for all children, and let’s not vote for politicians who don’t take this seriously into account.”
Valeur sentimentale by Joachim Trier, coming out in theatres on August 20th, 2025.
